I’ll admit, I haven’t followed The Drip’s career closely. I remember grabbing The Wasteland and the The Drip EPs off Grindcore Karaoke back when they offered downloads and enjoying them. I also remember getting A Presentation of Gruesome Poetics back in 2014 but my time with it was brief and I got buried by other releases so it unfairly never got the time of day. And that was also on a different hard drive that didn’t get backed up enough before inevitable death. [Insert your excessive pornography jokes here]
What I can say now is that The Drip play a strain of grindcore that’s modern. “How’s that?” one might wonder. Despite the speed need that The Drip often push, as per the grindcore genre standard, there’s a lot of slower moments and sections broken down. It’s reminisce of modern hardcore. And that’s not a bad thing.
The Haunting Fear of Inevitability is an album largely about death. You can read about that here, and I highly recommend it as it gives a great perspective on what you’re in for. Musically, the album is much of what I’ve already described. But let’s dive into that a little deeper and not be so dismissive. A bit ago, we premiered “Blackest Evocation.” And like any song premier, it was only a taste of things to come. It’s a great intro track that leaves no room for messing around. It hits hard and fast, grabbing you by the face and giving you the business. It’s the kind of song that wakes you up and gets your damn attention.
The constant with grindcore is this: the genre commands blasting, unstoppable speed in its purest form. It was founded on out-punking the speed of punk/hardcore. But the landscape has changed drastically since the 80s and continues to change. The Drip isn’t a speed shtick, as I’ve already mentioned. But it bears repeating. “Blackest Evocation” sets you up for the rest of the album but there’s more to be had. Truth be told, there’s plenty of death metal influence scattered throughout. Guitars aren’t always just a quick succession of power chords. There’s a definite, albeit minimal, thrash aspect that looms about. Tracks like “Anathema” have a dash of Swedish influence going on that runs itself between death metal and thrash. The progression is slower, yes, but the song is still hard-hitting and thrashy. “Dead Inside” takes a similar approach but with an emphasis on speed. Well, before the song breaks down to a chugga-chug/melodic exchange.
Meanwhile, the straight up death metal influence cannot be understated. Deathgrind is plenty popular right now, but I wouldn’t lump The Drip in with it. It takes cues no doubt though. Brandon Caldwell’s vocals switch between guttural growls and in-your-face screams which is what you’d expect from the genre. However, it’s song like “Covered In Red” and “Terror War Industry” (which has a strong Brutal Truth influence) that bring this full circle.
Still, The Drip does dabble in old school throughout. And if you’re confused by now in the review, well, I don’t blame you. The Drip does a lot of things, even if it doesn’t seem like it initially. The influences are there though. It’s almost like if you combined Brutal Truth and Great American Ghost you’d have an idea of what you’re in for. There is a definite influence of the old like Napalm Death, but it almost exists as a sketchbook throughout. They’ve got the blueprint and they play it well, but it’s going to mostly come through if you sit back and give it your full attention. “Exile” is probably the best example of this. A scathing old school, unrelenting onslaught.
The Haunting Fear of Inevitability is nothing if not straightforward. Plenty of people will be dismissive about it, and fine, let them. The Drip have more going on than most would notice upon a few listens. Or maybe one just needs to be balls deep in the grindcore genre to hear the differences. Regardless, The Drip’s first full-length is what you’d expect from modern grindcore and it pulls it off damn well. Some might not be satisfied if it doesn’t sound like a tin metal sheet being waved in front of a condenser mic as the vocalist screams about how much they love Insect Warfare. Fair deal, but The Drip is not that. However, The Haunting Fear of Inevitability is kind of album that could, and probably will, pull in new fans of the genre.
Score: 8/10
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